What makes a sim successful is community and social interaction. But a good back story for your group and place is a strong addition. I kept a journal over the eight and a half years the Valkyrie has existed, along with some of my roleplay episodes, but decided they wouldn’t be of much interest to anyone. Much of it was scattered, tossed away to the winds. During the summer, I held three Valkyrie campfire meetings where I told the story of the Valkyrie from my point of view as if I lived it. I’m no writer. But I created a northern saga and shared three parts of it making frantic notes the night before each meeting cobbling the chronicles together. I told the story on the fly, yet in a way I felt like I was channeling something special and lived it. And that really is the spirit of sincere roleplay and telling a good story. I avoided using Gor as the backdrop because the Gor we play in, as written by John Norman, is protected by copyrights. So while the setting is in ancient Scandinavia, it’s easy to apply the early Viking era Norway back over to Torvaldsland and northern culture (the GE version at least). And Valkyrie Forest becomes a reverse region of the Northern Forest. The telling of the story and background can be interchanged between earth and gor without stepping on John Norman’s toes.

I’ve copied and pasted the description of the story and the individual chapter links below as it appears on the Valkyrie website. Part 2 – Black Sun, the volva traveling with us shares a neat trick with me to scare off foes, a magical way to darken the sun. I don’t realize at the time, but she knew an eclipse was coming over the Norselands. Ironically, as I post this today (8-21-17), an eclipse is about to travel across our world. Awesome timing!

We of the Valkyrie is a saga about the origins of the Valkyrie presented here in three parts. There are more than three parts to the story of the Valkyrie, but the first three make for a complete story. They were shared by Dagny Chalice (alternately known as Danika, Valkyrie Chieftess) at three Valkyrie campfire meetings held over the summer of 2017. Click on the links below to read Part 1, Childhood's End; Part 2, Black Sun; and Part 3, Prophecy.

In the wake of shifting cold winds, innocence is soon to be lost in the idylic northern village of Selasund. Childhood's End finds shifting alliances and betrayal. Blood will be spilled on ice. Lives will be forever changed. Presented at the Valkyrie campfire meeting on 6-11-17, here now is the Part 1 installment:

We pay no mind to the fleet of longships entering the mouth of the bay, meandering round past the snow-clad fjords rising out of the mists. The sun hangs low like a flickering old lantern behind their square sails. Up high on Ari, the craggy hill overlooking our village of Selasund, my much older brother, Elof, and I laugh wildly as we run, slip-siding over patches of snow and ice, stooping to retrieve our missing arrows. He has been setting up wooden targets all afternoon teaching me how to aim a bow and I am sure half of them were missed by me.

Previously in We of the Valkyrie, a storm is brewing close to the shores of the original village the Valkyrie came from, along with the sudden and tragic death of Dagny's older brother at the hands of the Wends led by Kruto, the Terrible. He is a man of giant stature bringing destruction in his wake. Dagny is captured. Her captor defects and takes her home with him where she will meet Mist. She returns with Dagny to her village and a confrontation erupts between the earl and his men and Mist, Reginleif, and Dagny. They were very close to being attacked and killed in the longhall. Presented at the Valkyrie campfire meeting on 6-25-17, here now is the Part 2 installment:

With the chatter in the longhall now eerily grown quiet, I hear the "ssh" sounds of swords being drawn from the leather scabbards of Hakon and his men as they move toward me from the opposite side of the longhall. Mist and Reginleif close ranks with me, our backs to the wall. Some of the other shieldmaidens rise from the long tables, moving quickly to join our side, pivoting to face the men approaching from across the room. Herja on one end, Skuld on the other, Kara, and then our village healer, Eir.

Seven of us standing side to side with feet shoulder width apart, we nervously draw our swords, the light from the lanterns dripping amber off steel edges, each of us placing our leading foot slightly forward, square on to their approach and ready to fight. Except Eir who holds up a small dagger and shrugs to us. At least she has weapon. With our backs to the wall, and the broad door far to the right, there is not time enough to escape.

Previously in We of the Valkyrie, there is division in the village of Selasund and fears of revolt as the Earl and Dagny confront each other and villagers take sides. But an attack by a great sailing force from the Wends brings much bloodshed and destruction to the village. Dagny attempts to escape a larger attacking wave along with her shieldmaidens and some villagers. The volva traveling with them predicted sky wolves and a black sun, a trick that saves them. But now sailing northward, they come under another attack from the dark shoreline. Presented at the Valkyrie campfire meeting on 7-9-17, here now is the Part 3 installment:

Storm clouds have been quickly gathering directly ahead of us since the attack of the fire arrows began. The northern lights and field of stars rising from the sea I had watched with such longing moments ago are now smeared and hidden from view. The winds pick up, the waves becoming rougher. In almost no time, our longships are rocking wildly, bows heaving high up on peaked wave crests and slamming down hard as we plow northward into the turbulent sea. With the last of the Torva women safely aboard our longship, we watch the stern of their vessel tip vertically above the choppy waves, then dip, vanishing into the dark churning waters.